System of construction for steel ships.



S. HOLMES.

SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTION FOR STEEL SHIPS.

: APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1912. 1,076,208. Patented 001;. 21, 1913.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

S. HOLMES.

SYSTEM OF CONSTRUGTION FOR STEEL SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1912.

1,07 ,20 7 Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

3 SHEETS-BHEET 2.

S. HOLMES.

SYSTEM OF CONSTRUCTION FOR STEEL SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1912 1,076,208. Pate nted Oct. 21, 1913.

'3 SHEETB-SHBBT 3.

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speciflcaticn' at Letters Patent. Application filed July 1, 1912'. Serial at. 706,956.

To all *ho'rrt it may concern:

Be it known that .1,! S MUnIL,HoL1\ fEs, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and residing at Elizabeth, in' the county of Union. and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improve- Ihents in Systems of Construction for Steel Ships, of which the following is a specifi cation,--s'uch-.as" will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to nrake and use the same:

This invention relates to the; construction of the hulls of steel shi s, and particularly td the hulls of what are known as'tank ships for transportin liquid cargoes such as, oilor other liquid material, arid the objct thereof is to' provide a system of construction for the hulls of shi s of this class which will simplify and rend r the said construction less expensive thaii at the resent time,

and which will also render sai hulls more strong til- 1 dura'ble, atewith this and other objects in view the .irivention' consists i'nthe construction, combination and arr an'gement' of parts her'einatter described and claimed.

It is a wellknown fact that the hulls of vessels'ofthe class specified are'a'usiiallyv rovidbd' with transverse bulk-heads and b lkh'ead frames by means ofwhich' the bulkheads are secured to the hull, and these bulkhead frames are usually composed of double angle'ironsg'but inthe case of tank ships the said framesiare whatare lmown as single angle iron' frames riveted to the shell of the hull' and to the bulkheads,fand the edges of the angle irons are calkedto produce oil tight joints; and thesaid' hulls are also usually provided with central longitudinal bulkheads, and these bulkheads divide the hulls into separate compartments, These bulkhead fr'a'nies and especially th transverse'bulkhead frames are the worst features in the construction of a steel" hull, they necessitate a direct line of rivet holes all aroundthe hullin atransverse" plane'at each bulkhead and the rivet holes are made-close together in' order to roduce water tight joints; hut" iIi" the" case" of a t'ankxsh p 1n whichthe' rivets arespace'd three'diameter's' apart, 44% of the shell of the" hull is punched away and thatin'a' direct line ex:

tending entirely around said hull at each? constfuction in" the" transvetsej plane of the bulkheads and this evil is iiic'reasedf by the fact that thfibulkheads" are made rigid.

which fact, directs all undue stresses tothese parts, particularly'the transverse sectional points in the plane of the bulkheads, all of which objections are remedied by means of my improvement, whereby the bulkheads are made elastic to a certain extent and the necessity of forming rivet holes so closely together in the shell of the hull and'in transverse liriesrunning around the hull," is obviated, and whereb'y there is a great saving of material in the bulkheads and the necesisity of reinforcing thelsai'ne is also obviated.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification of which the accompanying' drawingfoirns a part, in which the separate parts of my invention are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is" a transverse sectional view through a part of the hull of a tank ship constructed accordi to my improvr'nent;- Fig; 2' a horiilontal sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a; verticalsec-I tional view on thelin- 3430f Fig; 1 ;-Fig.- 4: a' view siiiiilar to Fig; 3' but oii'ali'enlarged scale and showing the details of the constructiori';Fi'g.' 5 a fragmentary view of the outside shell tr thefhull' and showing the line'of rivetsemgloyed in securi'n the bulkheads'in positio v; of the bulkhead. coristruct-i n;'-'-Fig. *7 a view similar to Fig. 1 but" showing the hull of an ordinary cargo vessel',' instead' of a tank ship ;'--Fig.' Eta section on the line'81-8 of Fig. 7 ;'Fig. 9 a section Off the line 9-9 of Fig. 7;-Fi% 1'0 a'view similar to Fig; 4 but taken oii' t: e'1ine"10I-10. at the bottom of Figi'1','oiat the top of said figure; and Fi 11 a view similar .tQFig L'Q'but' showing di ei'ent forms of bulkhead construction.

8 and 9,'I have shown the hull construction which I eni loy inthe case of ordinary cargo ships,- and m the first of .these constructions I provide transverse bulkheads' a; and a centr'al longitudinal bulkhead a composed of sheet' steel having vertical undulations forming reversely arranged troughrshaped. member's which open in opposite directions and which .may be composed of separate partsi'whic'h are'riv'eted together, as shown,-

at a in'Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 8,'o1""instea'd of making said troii h-shaped members sepa rately they" may be"m'ade'with two, three or PatnteiifOct'; 2'1; 1913.

more troughs or partial troughs in each part or section, as shown in Fig. 11, and instead of riveting said parts together, they may, if found practical, or advisable, be welded or otherwise secured together.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 7, I have shown a part of a hull of a ship of the class specified comprising one side Wall or shell b, the bottom 12 and the first or steel deck 6 and the side wall or shell I) are composed of longitudinal strips or sheets of steel riveted tog'ether at b in the usual manner, and at each side, only one side being shown is an open space 6, as usual inthis class of tank ShIPS, and said space or spaces are provided with a deck 6. similar to the deck 6.

In practice the top end members of the transverse bulkheads are secured to the deck b and to the bottom 6, of the hull, by angle .Fig. 4, and which are securely riveted both to the bulkhead. members and to the deck b and to the bottom of the hull, and the connection of the top of the bulkhead members with the deck 6* are similarly made. The sides of the bulkhead members are connected with the side or sides b of the hull, by means of vertically arranged bulkhead frames (1 having bottom gussets d and made'in the same manner as thebulkheads, except that the convolutions thereof are arranged horizontally, and said bulkhead frames are connected with the side or sides of the hull or shell thereof at d by means of the angle bars 0 which are riveted thereto and to the side or sides of the hull in the same manner,

as shown in Fig. 10, this construction being .clearly shown in F' 4, and the bulkheads are connected with t e bulkhead frames d at d in the same manner, orby means of the.

angle bars a, which are riveted to said bulkhead frames and to the bulkheads, as shown at d in Fig. 2, and in this construction I preferably prov1de vertically arranged wing or web plates e which are riveted directly to the sting e bar a and to which the bulkheads are riveted, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

In connecting the transversebulkheads a with the longitudinal bulkhead a I provide vertically arranged 'web lates j which are riveted to the o posite si e members of the transverse bu eads, as shown at f, and which divide the longitudinal bulkhead into separate parts which are riveted thereto, as

' riveted together, as shown at a, and the exact form of the undulations or troughshaped members of the bulkheads and bulk- In Fig. 5, I have shown a section of a side of the hull and at g the undulating line of the rivets-by which the bulkhead frames and bulkheads are secured to the hull and-this, as will be understood, avoids the necessity of placing said rivets in a transverse line and the consequent weakening of the hull or shell thereof in the plane of the bulkheads, 1

as hereinbefore set out.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I have shown my improvement applied to an ordinary cargo ship having a steel hull, a false or tank bottom h, a top deck k, and a main deck h, and in the construction shown I employ ordinary bulkheads, or bulkheads of the usual construction, and which are placed between the decks h and h and between the deck k and the false bottom it, as shown at 'i and i and these bulkheads are connected with the sides of the hull by bulkhead frames 7' similar in all respects to the bulkhead frames d, except that they are divided by the deck h, in. the form of construction shown, and are riveted to the deck k and the deck k, as shown at j, and are con.- nected with the false bottom It by a web 'member 7" riveted thereto and to said false bottom? In this form of construction, the

bulkheads are connected with the bulkhead frames j by'wing) or web plates is to which they are secured y means of angle irons k riveted thereto and to said web plates, and

the bulkhead frames j are secured to the hull b by means of the angle bars 0 riveted thereto and to said hull and the web plates, this construction being clear shown-in Flg. 9. In Fi 1 and 2, I have shown the shell of the s ip as composed of separate plates riveted together andthe connection between *the hull and the angle bars a, the bulkheads and the bulkhead frames (1 as open, but it will be understood that these connections are all made tight in practice, as shown in Fig. 4, and the joints or connections between the separate bulkhead members, and between the transverse bulkheads and bulkhead frames,

and between the bulkheads and the hull of the ships and the decks thereof are all made tight so that the liquid cargo cannot pass from onecompartment of the ship 'to another.

It will be understood that the thickness of the material or steel sheets or plates, from which the bulkheads are formed, or the strength thereof maybe regulated as desired, and will depend upon the size or dicross section, I secure the desired strength of the said bulkheads without the necessity way, and

of reinforcing or bracing the same in any also secure acertain degree of elasticity in the hull construction which tends to prevent breakage or rupture of the hull in theplane of the transverse bulkheads, the stresses or strains to which the hull is subjected being .distributed more or less throughoutthe hull and being taken up by the vibration of which the bulkheads are capable, and while I have shown the main part of the bulkheads, in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, as of ordinary form, it will be understood that in this construction also the undulating or trough shaped bulkheads may be employed if desired, and my invention is not limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described and the principle of the construction of bulkheads, or bulkhead frames herein shown and described maybe varied, modified or changed in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

In ordinary cargo ships the application of the bulkhead principle, herein shown and described, will be found of great advantage, in that it reduces or relieves the strain on the hull in the transverse plane of thetransverse bulkheads, even when ordinary bulk heads are employed, and while I have shown and described the preferred formkof connecting the transverse bulkheads with the bulkhead frames and the transverse bulkheads with the longitudinal fore and aft bulkhead, it will be understood that these features of the construction may also be varied, modified or changed, as experience may prove to be best, and my invention involves, not only the vertical arrangement of the undulations or trough-shaped members of the bulkheads, but also the horizontal arrangement thereof, if such arrangement is found to be advisable;

Having fully described my invention what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is '1. A bulkhead construction for ships involving a main longitudinal central bulkhead and transverse bulkheads connected therewith and with the sides ofthe hull by a bulkhead frame construction composed of sheet metal formed into deep undulations or trough-shaped members which open in opposite directions and which are riveted to the hull, and between which and the bulkheads are placed web plates which are riveted thereto and to said bulkheads.

2. A ship the hull of which is provided with bulkheads compbsed of sheet metal bent to form parallel grooves or trough-shaped members which open in opposite. directions and which are riveted to the deck and to the bottom of the hull and which are connected with the sides of the hull by bulkhead frames composed of sheet metal formed into deep parallel grooves or trough-shaped members, the grooves or members of the frames being at right angles to the grooves or members of the bulkheads, and said frames being riveted to the hull and being also secured to the bulkheads.

3. The herein described bulkheads for ships, said bulkheads comprising a central portion or member and side portions or members, the central portion being corru-' gated vertically to form deep trough-shaped members which open in opposite directions, and the side portions or members being corrugated horizontally to form deep troughshaped members which open in opposite directions', said central and side portions being connected b web members riveted thereto, and said si e members being secured to the hull of the ship or parts thereof by rivets arranged in continuous 'S-shaped lines which cross the central plane of the bulkheads.

4. The herein described bulkheads for ships, said bulkheads consisting of sheetmet-al and being formed from separate trough-shaped members riveted together and which open in opposite directions, said bulkheads also comprising central portions in which the trough-shaped members are arranged vertically, and side portions in which the trough-shaped members are arranged horizontally, saidside members being also provided with webs which are secured thereto and to which the central members are secured, and said side members and central members belng secured to the hull of the ship, or parts thereof by rivets arranged in continuous S-shaped lines which cross the central plane of the bulkheads.

5. A ship provided with loulkheads composed of sheet metal and bent to form deep parallel grooves or trough-shaped members which open in opposite directions and which are secured tothe hull by rivets arranged in continuous S-shaped or zig-zag lines which cross the central plane of the bulkheads, said bulkheads being also composed of separate parts which are riveted together and in some of which the grooves or troughs are horizontal and in others vertical.

6. A ship the hull of which is composed of sheet metal and provided with bulkheads also composed of sheet metal, said bulkheads being composed of separate parts formed into deep undulations or trough-shaped members which open in opposite directions, and which abut endwise against the hull of the ship and which are secured thereto by rivets "arranged in continuous undulations or S-shaped lines which cross the central plane of the bulkheads.

7 A ship the hull of which is composed of sheet metal and provided with bulkheads also composed of sheet metal, said bulkheads being composed of separate parts formed into deep undulations or trough-shaped members which open in. opposite directions, and which abut endwise against the hull of the ship and which are secured to said hull by means of angle bars curved to correspond with the curves of the parts of the bulkheads in cross section, and which are riveted to said parts of the bulkheads, and also sccured to the hull by rivets arranged in conovaaoe tinuous undulations or S-shaped curves which correspond with the curves of the said 15 angle bars and which cross the central planes of the bulkheads.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 20 29th day. of June 1912.

SAMUEL HOLMES. v

Witnesses G. MULREANY, v S. ANDREWS. 

